A friend of vehicular manslaughter suspect Cody William Stevens claims that Stevens was injured in an earlier accident on March 10, prior to an accident later the same day that caused the death of a well-known Hailey woman.
"That first accident where he hit the tree really messed him up," April Montano wrote in an e-mail this week to the Idaho Mountain Express.
Montano and her husband, Nick Montano, are longtime friends of Stevens, a 28-year-old Twin Falls man charged in Blaine County with vehicular manslaughter for allegedly causing the death of 53-year-old Bertilia Lyn Redfern, a secretary at the Roark Law Firm in Hailey.
April Montano was referring to an accident that occurred about 9:40 a.m., almost three hours before the accident that killed Redfern.
According to the Blaine County Sheriff's Office, Stevens, driving his green 2001 Dodge Ram pickup, lost control of the vehicle about a half mile south of Bellevue on state Highway 75 and smashed into a tree. The sheriff's office reported that Stevens was checked by a Wood River Fire and Rescue ambulance but declined to be transported to the hospital.
"I was the one who was supposed to be meeting him in Hailey to drive him home after a phone call made to both my husband and myself from Cody asking one of us to drive him home because he was not feeling well," Montano wrote.
The Montanos were not able to connect with Stevens, and instead he ended up renting a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado in Hailey. That was the vehicle he was driving when he allegedly swerved into the path of a vehicle driven by Redfern about 12:20 p.m. on Highway 75 north of its intersection with Countryside Boulevard in south Hailey. Redfern's Suburu was then struck by another vehicle.
"Cody has a lot of friends backing him right now," Montano wrote. "Everyone that knows him knows that he is not a bad guy and what happened was a fluke horrific accident."
Hailey police are still investigating possible drug charges against Stevens, who was released Tuesday from the Blaine County jail after posting $25,000 bond.
Stevens' release followed a hearing earlier that day when Magistrate Court Judge R. Ted Israel reduced bond from $75,000. As a condition of release, Stevens is not allowed to drive or use alcohol or illegal drugs and must submit to daily drug testing.
A preliminary hearing, expected to last a full day, is scheduled for April 22.
Stevens' wife, Jennifer Stevens, also sent an e-mail this week to the Idaho Mountain Express.
"Being married to Cody for five years and being sweethearts in early high school years, I feel that it is important for everyone to know that Cody is not the man that some are making him out to be," she wrote.
"Cody is the type of person who is right there willing to help anyone whether he knows them or not. Just three weeks before this incident, an elderly man was stopped near an intersection in Twin Falls because his car had broken down. It was snowing and cold. Cody had just finished a 14-hour shift and he stopped to help the man. Cody took him to AutoZone and bought the part the man needed for his vehicle because the elderly man could not afford it. Cody then towed the man to his house, fixed his car and made sure that the elderly man got into his house OK."
Jennifer Stevens also wrote that Cody Stevens has suffered previous head injuries that have later led to seizures.
"As part of Cody's family, I would also like to say that our hearts go out to the Redfern family and we are praying for them and Cody," Jennifer Stevens wrote.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Cody William Stevens
